Monday, September 28, 2015

Mom took off Friday afternoon and was gone until really late Saturday night. She headed north to visit the foster lady from Whiskers in the Window. And then they went to one of those football games and were rooting for the Spartans....who won!! And we got an afternoon of mom not yelling at the TV. MOL

OK - so that second picture is fuzzy (mom took it with her phone). Anyhow....there is a dog that they let on the field that chases frisbees during breaks in the game!! By the way....this is Ash (black) and Fern (gray) They are being fostered and Ash has a home but Fern is still looking. If you know anyone near Detroit looking for a seriously sweet girl, let us know.
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Remember these guys????

Well....they are back. Both got a cold at the adoption center and since we make a commitment to all of our kittens, they are back here for a little bit. They aren't terribly snotty, so hopefully they will be back to the adoption center soon. Either way they are still on Petfinder if anyone is looking.

Oh and Tostada is doing ok but now that she is done with her meds, her cough is back full force. Mom has to touch base with the vet today.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Our resident house panther turns 9 this year (which sort of puts him in the "senior" category, but don't tell him we said that).

Mozart was a foster failure. He came to us as a foster kitten at about 6 weeks old with his orange tabby brother Picasso. Mo developed an eye infection that ulcerated and caused a scar. By the time he was cleared for adoption, he was almost 6 months old. He went back to the humane society where mom volunteered at the time....but with the eye scar and a mildly bratty attitude being back there, he sat for quite a while. Mom finally woke up one morning and realized that is someone else adopted him, she would never see him again. The paperwork was finalized and he came home.

Mo is the resident sun worshipper....if there is a sunpuddle, he is sleeping in it. He gets along with the permanent residents all well. He would be the first to tell you however that his life would be much simpler and quieter without all the foster kittens. But he tolerates them.....

He is affectionate, a lap cat and probably the most social of all of us if people come over to the condo.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Created to shed a light and light a candle for the MILLIONS of companion animals that lose their lives every year in shelters.....not for behavior issues or medical issues....for lack of homes. That's it - lack of space and adoptions.

We hope some day that companion animals stand a better chance in what is called a "shelter" system. We hope one day that #AdoptDontShop will be a phrase that is truly understood and utilized by everyone out there seeking a pet. We hope one day shelter workers won't have to bear the burden of killing thousands of animals as part of their job....and know that we will never blame the people have to do that job - blame the system or whatever, but not those that have to do it every day to stay employed.

Don't get us wrong - we know there are people who prefer specific breeds and there are responsible breeders. But there are also people who still believe that pets "need" to have a litter before being spayed. There are people that think it is "unmanly" to neuter their dogs. There are people breeding animals for money, not to further the breed.

This is about raising awareness about lives lost in a system that should be saving them....

Mom says of course HE didn't know he was different. And of course being young and adorable, he was adopted pretty quickly.

But that isn't true for many pets with special needs - be it deaf, blind, tripawd (see the Tripawds.com site for great info on these pets), FIV or FeLV postive or senior pets. While some may take longer to adjust to a new home, the rewards are so great that you might be surprised. In fact, some of our blogger friends have made decisions to very specifically adoption only senior or special needs animals.

So the next time you or a friend or family member are looking for a new pet, keep an open mind. Maybe the cute kitten or puppy isn't the best bet....maybe you can open your home and your heart to a pet that needs you more than you realize. It may be the best decision you ever make.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

As you can see, mom put up the gate over the weekend and let them have a little more room to roam. Plus we got a better look at them through the bars. They put on their Stranger Danger suits a couple of times as one of us walked passed, but they got over it pretty quickly. Tostada doesn't seem to care but Daiquiri finds them fascinating and would like them to come out to play. Of course, Daiquiri can get OVER the gate, so she has been in there sampling their dinner. MOL

They got their first rounds of vaccines but need to be tested before they truly get access to the house. Almond is a drama queen according to mom....he has something to whine about. Acorn is pretty lovey and looks for attention wherever she can get it.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Well, for those that didn't see the facebook update, they didn't find anything during Tostada's surgery. We know there is SOMETHING going on, but the vet couldn't see anything. We aren't quite sure what the next step is for her. Right now the vet and mom have Tostada on a low dose of prednisone hoping that will give her a little relief. Tostada was playing a little Saturday night, but is still very lethargic and the cough just sounds bad. Mom is going to update the vet today and have her call the rescue and see what they decide from there. We will keep everyone updated....

Our weekend was relatively quiet. Mom took Nashville and another kitten to an adoption event on Saturday. Most times they are at pet supply stores so getting adoptions is a slow proposition at best. But the rescue gets out there and talks to people and that is always a good thing.

Otherwise it was quiet around here - except for mom yelling at the TV watching the football game. :)

Friday, September 18, 2015

Tostada will be dropped off at 8am this morning for her surgery. We know mom will be a wreck most of the day. Not sure when it will be done, but we will put an update on our facebook page when we know more.

THANK YOU!!! for the purrs, prayers, positive thoughts and donations. Mom stopped by the rescue Tuesday night and the head rescue lady mentioned she had gotten some donations through the website (she was shocked by the Canada thing haha). She didn't know we were going to put it out there. Again - we know things are tight all over and we are SO grateful for those that are giving...and understand that not everyone can give. But keep up the purrs....right now that is most important for our girl.
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kinda a weird form of cat tetris

Nashville headed off to the adoption center on Wednesday night. He sure came out of his shell once his siblings left for the adoption center. He is much friendlier with mom. And boy is he a flirt!! He LOVES the ladies around here....and of course snuggling with Uncle Tim. He wasn't very happy about the car ride....or any part of being left. Until mom put him in a tower with other kittens - he curled up in a hammock with his new "girlfriend" Inge. :) (picture on our facebook page) Hopefully he will go home with another kitten or cat.
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A Moo update:
The Moos are actually are not here at the moment. Mom went to Tennessee last weekend and before she left she noticed that Devon wasn't doing so well. Since mom was going to be gone, Devon and the Moos transferred back to the rescue to be watched over. Devon has mastitis but is still nursing the kittens. They have just started eating canned food on their own, so the plan for now is leave them where they are (being in a crate seems to help Devon remain calmer) and when the Moos are eating well on their own, they will come back to us and Devon will go back to her colony. Mom stopped to see them on Tuesday and Devon hissed (go figure), Mac was busy eating, and Mollie walked right up to mom to register a complaint about something.

However, since kitten season never ends, mom brought home two other kittens on Wednesday when she dropped off Nashville. A lady had a cat that had kittens (don't get us started) and the rescue agreed to help with the kittens ONLY if mom cat was spayed. The lady got it done and we got kittens. We aren't sure if they will be honorary Moos....probably, even though they are about 2 weeks older. They are both black and white so there is that. If that is the case, we are thinking 2 more "M" names. The one on the left is a short hair male and the one of the right is a fuzzy girl.

They were a little hissy and jumpy when mom first got them home, but settled in pretty quickly. By a couple of hours later, the girl was all playful with mom even. We suspect they will figure it out in no time.
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Adoption update:

In case you missed it on our facebook page, Anise, Topeka and Reno were all adopted last week or over the weekend. Topeka has a nice young girl to spoil her. Anise was adopted with another kitten (not one of ours) and mom didn't get any info on Reno. But we are glad it didn't take too long for them to find homes.
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Bee update:
Mom tried to kill them with no luck. She found a removal company and the guy came out yesterday and took the pot, the plant and the bees. There were a few bees left but the guy said a spray would kill them or they should die on their own in about 36 hours. The bee guy did say that these were yellow jackets and they are indeed evil bees and that no amount of spray was going to kill them due to the size of the hive and it's location in the pot. He said he would know more once he froze the whole thing to kill everything, but he estimated the whole hive contained about 3,000-5,000 bees. Gives mom the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

**as part of the Blogger Influence Group, we get a free product once a month to review for Chewy.com but that does not influence our opinions. The product review is our honest opinions. Chewy.com is not responsible for the content of this review.

This month was an interesting selection. However, mom decided to try to restock some canned food for the foster kittens. It ended up being perfect timing....with the polyp that Tostada has, mom has been giving her canned food to be sure she is getting enough to eat without irritating her throat.

We got the Catswell Nutrisca Grain Free Truly Flaked Salmon this month. It is in a broth and has mostly smaller flakes, though there have been a couple of bigger chunks of fish....Tostada won't eat those but us adult think they are pretty awesome.

Nashville thinks the service is a little slow

Nashville on the left, Tostada on the right

stalker (Tommy) up above

Since we don't get canned food all the time, it's a big deal when it gets served around here.

This came just in time...with Tostada's breathing issues, mom was concerned about her eating dry food (and honestly wasn't sure how much she was eating of it). Mom has been serving the kittens in the kitchen and standing guard.

Mom says the smell wasn't overly fishy when she opened the can which is a plus for her. We obviously think it is great....and it is small enough pieces for even little kittens (mostly).

Like most canned products, our main wish is that they came in bigger cans. Those little 3 ounce cans are fine for 1 or 2 cats, but any more than that and the humans spend a HECK of a lot of time and energy popping cans open...not to mention waste of packaging.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Tostada has been back with us for a couple of weeks. Mom noticed right off that the meds didn't seem to be making any difference. So a week ago she took Tostada into the rescue vet. After doing some looking around, the vet decided that it is more than likely a nasopharyngeal polyp. (info from Cornell Vet)

Basically there is a small mass, normally benign, that grows at the back of the throat. It can block breathing and give them a gag type reflex. Mom was gone over the weekend and when she got home Sunday noticed that Tostada was laying in funny positions - trying to get comfortable.

The only solution is surgery. Tostada will go in on Friday and they will sedate her and remove any polyps they find. Hopefully that will resolve any issues and not come back. She will be on meds for a couple of weeks so she will be here for a little while as well.

** from the mom:
Here is where I need to ask a favor. As you know, Tostada is a foster kitten. Like all rescues, Colony Cats runs on donations. And just the day to day expenses are high. Add in unexpected surgery and that just adds to the stress. Come to find out another foster kitten needs the same surgery as well. If you are so inclined, please consider a small donation to help with their surgerys. Just mark "Tostada surgery" on the form. Or if you want, you can contact our vet Health and Harmony and donate direct to the vet bill (614-360-3941). I wasn't sure about asking, but even the price of a cup of coffee helps.

I know I am lucky - I live in an area with low cost spay/neuter clinics. Our rescue vet is great about helping to control costs. But the simple fact is, the humane society here isn't much help - they won't help ferals and kill for space - and any other excuse they can come up with. The other shelter where I volunteer tries to state they are "no kill" but the simple fact is they are VERY limited in the admissions they take. Which leaves small rescues like Colony to step into the void. There are other small rescues that exclusively do TNR. But Mona (the head of the rescue), despite being called names but those who don't know her, has a heart of gold. Which means she will step up to take the hard cases. Look in the windows of some rescues and you see the "perfect" cats for adoption. Look in our windows and you see 3 legged cats, one eyed cats, scared cats and just a few scruffy ones that need time to adjust. We even have a couple of foster homes that are exclusively hospice fosters. But that means our medical costs are higher....even with discounts.

So for Tostada - and every other cat given a chance with Colony they wouldn't get anywhere else around here - we ask for a little support. I know times are tough for everyone. I know not everyone can give....believe me I get it. But for those that can - even just a little - THANK YOU!!!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Spud is the one mom worries about the most around here. He came to us as a baby when Ivy was being fostered as a kitten with her mom and sisters. Someone found him in a box outside their workplace and couldn't keep him. He is skittish and while he loves most of the other cats (we think he certainly wishes Junior would find someplace else to be), mom wonders if a quieter house might not have been a better choice for him. However, she made the decision to make him a part of our family and now she makes certain he knows he is loved and tries to make sure he has safe places to be around the condo. He is very sweet and can be affectionate when he feels safe.

Friday, September 11, 2015

A couple of comments on Mo Cats Day thought that Mo should be allowed to have his own day. Mom says he already has a birthday, gotcha day and Black Cat Day to himself. let's not encourage his head to swell any more than necessary.
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All the kittens are doing well. Nashville's eye is clearing up to hopefully by next week he can head off to the adoption center. Tostada has some other issues that we will talk about next week so she will be here a little while. Between flirting with the girls, this is Nashville's favorite spot.
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The Moos are doing well. Devon will let mom scratch her on the head a few times but that is about it. It seems to be 1/2 step forward and then 1 step back. Both Mollie and Mac are sort of mobile so that probably isn't helping Devon's peace of mind either. (nor mom screaming during the bee incident)

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Tostada seems a little smug here, no? Actually mom forgot to turn off the flash and she blinked. MOL But geez check out those whiskers.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Mom had great plans for the weekend....3 days off (more or less after events and errands) to get posts ready to go. But you've heard what they say about "best laid plans" and all that right??

This is our balcony. We live in a condo but on the second floor. That pot in the corner now contains that evergreen shrub. Sunday morning mom ran out to grab a few things and bought some mums to plant in the other two planters. Sunday evening (about 7:30pm), she went outside to plant them. As she was doing that, she noticed the evergreen seemed rootbound and so took her garden rake and tried to move some dirt around when.....

SHE WAS ATTACKED!!!!

A swarm of angry bees came right out of the dirt and right at her. She was screaming and flailing around and trying to get back into the house. One got her nose and a few got up her shirt and a few even got in the house. She had to grab Daiquiri to keep her from trying to catch the evil winged bugs! Mom smashed the ones that came inside and then stood there elebenty kinds of freaked out.

Just to be safe, she took herself to the people emergency stabby place. They gave her some drugs but said she wasn't having an allergic reaction (which we understand could have been very bad). They said it was smart for her to have come in though - better safe than sorry. Of course, the stabby people said they wouldn't let her go home on her own, so she was texting friends trying to see who wanted to have some fun with her on a Sunday night. Miss Karen came over and helped mom plot her escape from the stabby people. Only took them 4 hours to figure it out.

Tuesday night she took a can of bug killer out and sprayed the heck out of the dirt around the bush. Unfortunately she saw some evil bees still flying around yesterday morning, so she is going to have to try again.

Mom ended up getting stung about 10-12 times. She was pretty miserable on Monday and Tuesday....we did our best to keep her company and entertained. Though she did scream pretty loud when that fly went by her on Monday night. Thankfully she is feeling much better....though still kind of itchy.

Also - sorry we haven't been able to comment this week. While we should have been able to read and comment more, the mom was layin' around moaning about being itchy. whine whine whine.....

**on a more serious note, I am fine. Still kind of swollen in a couple of places, but otherwise ok (mostly - I kind of feel like I went on a 3 day bender and still have the hangover). But as a note to everyone out there....PLEASE be careful. I had NO idea those bees where there and they were mean little buggers. While no one wants medical bills, better safe was the way to go.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Yes, ladies and gentlecats, it is that time of the year when it is all about ME!!!

Mozart the house panther

Mo Cats Day

the mom: Ummmm....Mo, don't we have this discussion every year at this time??

Mo: what???

the mom: Mo Cats Day is about having more cats get exposure on the internet after some yahooidiot guy tried to declare it "no cat day". Cat people took over and are using it to get more cats attention and hopefully adopted.

Drat

Really though?? Obviously we LOVE the idea of cats getting more exposure.....go forth to your local rescue and ADOPT!! (if you can....if not help spread the word)